Various types of storage systems and devices have been developed for organizing and storing children's toys. U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,264 issued to Crane discloses a child's play table having a reversible top providing a smooth surface on one side and a modular building block system on the other. Attached beneath the reversible surface are one or more toy storage compartments or drawers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,527,688 issued to Jones et al., describes a storage case for toy vehicles, simulating the appearance of an automobile steering wheel. U.S. Pat. No. 4,200,197, issued to Meyer et al. illustrates a toy storage apparatus having a decorative face designed to appear as an animated creature and having a large internal cavity.
A foot pedal opens the creature's mouth for the introduction or removal of the child's toys. U.S. Pat. No. 4,103,455 issued to Silvey discloses a toy chest of animal form mounted on casters. The chest includes a mechanism that when operated by the child to open the chest will produce sounds and animated movements of features of the chest. These features are designed to encourage the child to clean up his or her room.
While other variations exist, the above-described designs for toy storage devices are typical of those encountered in the prior art. It is an objective of the present invention to provide for an alternative use for a child's play yard when no longer needed to confine a small child. It is a further objective to provide for storage of both large and small toys and similar objects while making maximum use of the external surfaces of the play yard. It is a still further objective of the invention to provide the above-described capabilities in an inexpensive and durable storage system that can be easily removed from the play yard, washed, and easily reinstalled. It is yet a further objective to provide a means to secure the storage system to the play yard to prevent shifting once toys are stored in the system.
While some of the objectives of the present invention are disclosed in the prior art, none of the inventions found include all of the requirements identified.